Showing posts with label Cartoon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cartoon. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Hotel Transylvania Movie Review! At a theater near you 09/28 #HotelT

Hotel Transylvania Movie Poster Photo @Sony Pictures Animation



I am always writing to music, and this moment is no different, I'm listening to Hotel California by The Eagles and the lyrics say: "You can check-out any time you like, But you can never leave! " - I definitely wouldn't want to check into that hotel, but you almost can't help but wanting to check into Hotel Transylvania.

During the weekend I had the chance to attend a screening of the new movie, the screening was held in a movie theater central to Times Square in Manhattan and I got the chance to grab a great picture of the movie Billboard on my way out:

Hotel Transylvania Billboard, Times Square, New York City


ABOUT HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

Synopsis:

English Summary: Welcome to the Hotel Transylvania, Dracula’s (Adam Sandler) lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula has invited some of the world’s most famous monsters – Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, a family of werewolves, and more – to celebrate his daughter Mavis’s 118th birthday.  For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but his world could come crashing down when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis.


Cast/Elenco:

Adam Sandler
Andy Samberg
Kevin James
Selena Gomez
Steve Buscemi
CeeLo Green
David Spade
Molly Shannon
Fran Drescher

Animated Family Comedy, Hotel Transylvania opens in theaters September  28, 2012


Spanish Summary/En EspanolBienvenido al Hotel Transylvania, el fastuoso resort de cinco estrellas de Drácula (Adam Sandler), en donde los monstruos y sus familias pueden sentirse libres de comportarse como los monstruos que son sin que haya humanos que los molesten.  En un fin de semana muy especial, Drácula ha invitado a alguno de los monstruos más famosos del mundo – Frankenstein y su novia, la Momia, el Hombre Invisible, una familia de hombres lobo, y muchos más – para celebrar el cumpleaños número 118 de su hija Mavis. Para Drac, atender a todos estos monstruos legendarios no es ningún problema, pero su mundo puede desmoronarse cuando un hombre ordinario llega por casualidad al hotel y se deslumbra con Mavis.

Watch the Trailer:



My Take:

I greatly enjoyed Hotel Transylvania, it is well paced, family friendly and enjoyable. There are so many relatable moments in the film, one of my favorites is the Dad, Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) continually comes up with funny nicknames for his daughter Mavis, which my mom always did when I was little (and sometimes she still does! Even my dad had a funny nickname for me too!). Dracula also has a hard time letting Mavis 'fly' which most parents can relate to, and the kids will enjoy all the silly hijinx in the movie. I actually ended up enjoying this movie so much more than I thought I would, it definitely gets 5 butterflies out of a possible five!

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FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post, no monetary compensation has been received. I attended an Advanced Screening as a member of the digital press. All opinions are 100% my own.

Friday, November 18, 2011

{CLOSED} The Littlest Angel DVD Giveaway! Ends 11/23

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor The Littlest Angel on DVD! The Winner is: 'Terri S.' (We post winner site usernames for privacy reasons). Remember: There are great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!
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Ascending Butterfly's 2011 Holidays Buying Guide, Giveaway #4 brought to you by:


KIDS CORNER

We started our Kids Corner in our Annual Holidays Buying Guide with a review of Cars 2, and now we have a review (with giveaway this time! YAY!) for The Littlest Angel! This classic childrens story has been reimagined and is now available for purchase. This rated G release has been been approved for all ages by The Dove Foundation

The Littlest Angel (who reminds me a great deal of my nephew, inquisitive, smart, and sometimes mischievious), is the story of a young boy who arrives in heaven way before his time, he finds himself lonely and very home-sick  and goes on an adventure back to earth with his trusty pup Halo both to earn his wings and to retrieve a gift for the baby Jesus, as well as learn valuable lessons along the way. Discovering that the greatest gifts in life are faith, friendship and doing the right thing!

With great animation and strong vocal talent including Ron Perlman (who also voiced characters in Beauty and the Beast as well as Tangled) The Littlest Angel is sure to become a favorite holiday tradition much like the book it is based on.

Wanna keep the little ones entertained while waiting for Turkey Day Dinner? How about coloring pages?

Press on each picture individually, then print as many copies as you need, do this for each picture separately if you want all of them!

Coloring Pages









I haven't colored in ages, I might have to print out a set for myself! Have the kiddos color them and then put them on the fridge!

 My Take:

This is definitely a fun & safe for all ages film, that is heart-warming and charming. With a more classic animation style that relies less on the special effects and more on telling a great story. As an Aunt and Godmother what I love is that this allows you to give a gift of faith in a way that makes it fun for the child.

As a God-Mother I really like to find gifts that are Faith based for my God-Children and it's a challenge to find items sometimes, I want to enhance their faith in a way that is age appropriate and still very fun and this movie is definitely a perfect stocking stuffer!

You didn't think I'd forget about you right? Who loves you butterfly?

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at Anchor Bay Entertainment would like to give 1 lucky winner The Littlest Angel on DVD!

Don't you just ♥ The Littlest Angel? I know I do!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - How to Win: (1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and (2)MANDATORY ENTRY: Answer the following question: What is your favorite gift of Faith to purchase for a young child?  (3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com). (If your email is clearly visible in your profile, you can just say so, that's OK!) Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning (or in this case, the A,B,C’s of winning!) This giveaway is open to USA residents who are 18 years of age or older. No PO Boxes. No purchase necessary. One entry per Household, see Ascending Butterfly Giveaway Rules and Disclosure Policy HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Friday, November 18, 2011 until Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 03:00 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - In honor of all things with wings, what is your favorite 'winged thing'? Is it an Angel, a butterfly, a dragonfly, a bird? (I think you already know my choice!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment. (If your blog post contains more than just a pic and link you'll get 5 extra credit entries!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our NEW Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you have our old one, please swap it out, our URL address has changed!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter (this is ascendingbutterfly’s editor) and give me your twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @Ascending1 on Twitter (this is Ascending Butterfly's new account, we will soon be hosting twitter parties which necessitates having a second account so you can make updates throughout the entire party!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @AnchorBayEnt on Twitter

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet this:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Enter to  #Win The Littlest Angel DVD #Giveaway from @AnchorBayEnt + @Ascending1  Ends 11/23 #movies - 

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here). You can Tweet TWICE per DAY. If you Tweet more than that, that entry will be disqualified.)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like Anchor Bay Entertainment (a STARZ company) on Facebook HERE (Tell them which item you are trying to win on Ascending Butterfly or copy and paste 'I am trying to win The Littlest Angel DVD Giveaway on Ascending Butterfly') - Be sure you leave the link to your comment here for extra credit. (You can get the link the same way you do on twitter, press on the time you left the comment on their facebook wall, and when the page fully loads, highlight and copy the URL address and then paste it into the comment field here). If you say "I wrote on their wall" and do not leave the link that Extra Credit Entry will NOT be processed.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's NEW Community/Real Time Chat, Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog -This is ONE time per giveaway, NOT daily.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Have you entered another active giveaway on Ascending Butterfly? Let me know which one and you’ll get more extra credit!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Have you commented on a non-giveaway entry? Let me know which one here and you’ll get more extra credit!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - NEW! Here's a win/win extra credit entry if you join Scorebig from my affiliate link you will be entering for the chance to win a $100 ScoreBig Gift Card AND a $100 Amazon Gift Card (yes both) and if I get the most people to sign up via my link, I get a shot at a prize too! How cool is that? ScoreBig is the members-only place to save up to 60% on sports, concert and theater tickets. (Unfortunately if you have already signed up on your own or under someone else, you cannot claim the extra credit here) - tell us which email you used to sign up.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Press the button below and join, you get an extra entry for this giveaway and a shot at more great prizes, lets win together! (one time extra credit, will be verified before entry can be accepted)


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FTC Disclosure Info for this GiveawayThe Littlest Angel DVD was provided for review free of charge. No monetary compensation has been received. The sponsors are fulfilling directly to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of the products. All opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own. Once a winner is selected and their information has been forwarded to the sponsor, the responsibility of prize fulfillment rests with the sponsor.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Cars 2 {Movie Review}



About the Movie:

Star racecar Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in Cars 2 when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine) and the stunning spy-in-training Holley Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer). -- (C) Disney




My Take:

Boys aren't the only ones into cars. I had Matchbox cars when I was a kid (and had to constantly keep an eye on my male cousins!), all very ironic as I don't drive but I do appreciate muscle cars! The next best thing to driving fast cars is watching them race right?

Cars 2 focuses in more on the friendship between McQueen and Tow Truck Mater with a mix of international espionage thrown in for fun. The kids will love Mater's goofy charm and Pixar's fantastic animation that will take them around the world (without the expense of airfare) and teach them a thing or two about friendship in the process.

So join me in scoring cool Auntie points and check out Cars 2 today! And you can nab a coupon for $5 off HERE

There are some fun activities you can check out below:

Download Printable Cars 2 Maintenance Activities!

And for my foodies:

Download Printable Cars 2 Recipes!

and stuff to do on the go:

Download Printable Cars 2 Road Games!

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Friday, July 8, 2011

This weekend I'm taking a trip to the 100 Acre Wood - And so can YOU!



I'll be attending the New York Screening of Winnie The Pooh this weekend, and I just can't wait! Winnie was one of my favorites, and I couldn't get enough of his adventures! Now I share that love with my younger niece and nephews.

Sometimes my nephews are much like Tigger, bouncy, adventurous, silly and fun!

While I can't take you all to the screening with me, I can leave you with some fun activities to try out with your little ones!

While I know it's a Tad early to be thinking Halloween, one of the activities that I thought was super cute, is a Winnie The Pooh Mask!



Winnie The Pooh Mask



No one says a Halloween costume has to be scary. Here's a cute disguise inspired by a honey of a bear who makes it his bees-ness to eat as much of the golden syrup as he can get his paws on. The sweetest part is how quick and easy this mask is to assemble.
Materials:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Winnie the Pooh Mask template
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Scissors
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Thin cardboard
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Cardstock or scrapbook paper - (two shades of golden yellow, black, and red)
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Glue stick
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Pencil
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Paper hole punch
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Craft knife
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Thin black sewing elastic
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Stapler


Instructions:

1. Print out the template (pages 3 and 4) and cut out the pieces to use as patterns. First, cut out a head from the thin cardboard and set it aside (you'll use this to back the mask later). From the lighter shade of golden yellow paper, cut a second head and a muzzle. Cut the face shadow and the inner ears pieces out of the second shade of golden yellow. Then cut out eyes, eyebrows, a nose, and a mouth from black paper and a tongue from red paper.

2. To create the mask, start by gluing the inner ears in place on the paper head. Next, glue on the face shadow, positioning the top of it about 1 1/2 inches from the top of the head. Attach the eyebrows right above the face shadow.

3. Next, glue the nose onto the muzzle. Then glue the muzzle in place so that the lower edges match up with the bottom of the head and the top overlaps the face shadow. Glue on the mouth, positioning it about 1 3/4 inches up from the chin, and then stick on the tongue.

4. Place (but do not glue) the eyes on the mask and lightly trace around them. Remove the eyes and use the craft knife to cut a hole through the head within the lines of each tracing. Don't make the holes as big as the eyes -- instead, leave a 1/8-inch border between the hole and the pencil line.

5. Now punch a hole in the center of each of the black paper eyes to create a pair of black rings, and glue them in place around the eyeholes in the mask. At this point, have your child hold the mask up to his face to make sure he can see well. If not, use the craft knife to make the eyeholes larger.
6. Place the mask atop the cardboard backing to mark where the eyeholes are. Then cut matching holes in the cardboard.

7. Cut a piece of black sewing elastic to a length that's just a bit longer than needed to fit around the back of your child's head. Knot the elastic ends and staple them to the sides of the mask backing.

8. Finally, glue the mask onto the backing, matching up all the edges, and it's ready to wear.

Not much the arts and crafts type but love to bake? Then you will definitely want to try out this fun recipe. Who doesn't want to pull something Pooh inspired out of the oven? (OK stop giggling over there, I see you! Yes YOU!)

Sweet Beehive Cake



Create some buzz at your little honey’s garden-, flower-, or bug-themed party with this simple cake and its cookie swarm.

Materials:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ  - 8-inch round cake
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 6-inch round cake
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Half-sphere cake baked in a 2-cup ovenproof bowl
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 3 ½ cups yellow frosting
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 13 round cookies
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 1 ½ cups light-blue frosting
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 12 Twix Minis
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - 12 marshmallows
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Chocolate frosting
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Large yellow gumdrop

Instructions:

1. Use a long serrated knife to trim the tops of the round cakes flat, if needed. To get the smooth look, first stack the three cakes on a wire rack over a cookie sheet. Heat 3 cups of the yellow frosting in the microwave until it liquefies, about 20 seconds (remember microwave wattages vary so you may need to adjust this). Stir the frosting, then slowly pour it over the top of the cakes, covering them completely. Refrigerate the stack for about 30 minutes to harden the frosting.


2. Meanwhile, frost 12 of the cookies light blue and place a Twix in the center of each. Use scissors to cut the ends from the marshmallows and press on these ends, sticky side down, for wings.

3. Carefully transfer the cake to a platter. To add a door, trim one edge of the remaining cookie, cover both sides with chocolate frosting, then press it onto the hive. Spoon the rest of the yellow frosting into a resealable sandwich bag, snip off a corner, and pipe markings onto the bees and hive. Top the hive with the gumdrop and arrange the bees around it. Serves 12.


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FTC Disclosure: This is a NON-Sponsored Post. Permissions have been granted by @Disney to share the craft, recipe and photos with my readers!